earth science

Gigantactis elsmani

Gigantactis elsmani is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gigantactis elsmani rather than just read about it. In short: Gigantactis elsmani, or Elsman's whipnose, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. This species is found in the deeper waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Key takeaways

Gigantactis elsmani belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gigantactis elsmani to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gigantactis elsmani from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gigantactis elsmani, or Elsman's whipnose, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gigantactinidae, the whipnose anglers. This species is found in the deeper waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy Gigantactis elsmani was first formally described in 1981 by Erik Bertelsen, Theodore W. Pietsch and Robert J. Lavenberg with its type locality given as the South Atlantic at 10°57'S, 11°20'W, Walther Herwig station 459/71, from a depth of 0–1,900 m (0–6,234 ft). This species is placed within the genus Gigantactis which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the family Gigantactinidae, a family within the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep sea anglerfishes of the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Etymology Gigantactis elsmani is a member of the genus Gigantactis, the name of which is a combination of gigantos, meaning "giant", with either ἀκτίς ("ray"), or tactis ("toucher", as in tactile), an allusion to the unusually long illicium of the genus's type species, G. vanhoeffeni, shared with this species. The specific name honours Kai L. Elsman, who illustrated the review of the whipnose anglers the species was first described in.

Description Gigantactis elsmani has relatively large metamorphosed females, which are black and have a comparatively short illicium, which has a length equivalent to 93-126% of the fish's standard length. It does not have an elongated bulb on the esca, which has a single filamentous appendage on its base and two near its tip. There are no papillae on the bulb of the esca. There is no cluster of white filaments at the base of the illicium. There are 5 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 4 or 5 in the anal fin. The teeth on the dentary are comparatively short and arranged in 5 or 6 rows. This species has a maximum published standard length of 43.5 cm (17.1 in).

Distribution and habitat Gigantactis elsmani has been recorded in the southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where it has been reported to occur from the surface down to depths of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gigantactis elsmani

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gigantactis elsmani claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gigantactis elsmani before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gigantactis elsmani ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gigantactis elsmani

In research: Gigantactis elsmani appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gigantactis elsmani in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gigantactis elsmani is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bioluminescent fish, Deep sea fish, Fish described in 1981, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gigantactis elsmani outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gigantactis elsmani in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gigantactis elsmani means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gigantactis elsmani out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gigantactis elsmani in simple terms?

Why does Gigantactis elsmani matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gigantactis elsmani?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gigantactis elsmani.